The names of San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies and command staff who were allegedly involved in the beating of Francis Pusok last month in the High Desert were made public Monday by sheriff’s officials.

“When the incident occurred, the department and individuals received numerous threats, and until those threats could be investigated and deemed unsubstantiated or unwarranted, it wasn’t safe to release the deputies’ names for fear of any harm coming to them or their families,” said Jodi Miller, a sheriff’s spokeswoman. “When the Office of the Sheriff said the investigations had been completed, then we released the names.”

The criminal and administrative investigations are still ongoing, and the deputies who are named remain on paid administrative leave, Miller said.

Sheriff John McMahon ordered the investigation soon after news footage emerged showing what appears to show several deputies kicking and punching Pusok after a lengthy pursuit, which included the theft of a horse on April 9 in the unincorporated area of Apple Valley.

A request for background information for the 10 named deputies, such as their ages and how long they had worked for the department, was denied because they are protected under the Peace Officers Bill of Rights, according to Miller.

However, a records search revealed that some of the deputies are long-time veterans of the department.

“It’s hard to give any opinion or insight because we don’t know who those first two responders were, and I think if there’s going to be major sanctions, it’s going to be the first two there who were clearly beating the suspect incessantly and we don’t know who those two were,” said Stephen Tibbetts, a Cal State San Bernardino criminology professor. “I’m not excusing the other deputies who stood by and let it happen. But when it all comes down, I think the biggest sanctions will be against those first two deputies, and we don’t know their identities as of now. This is just the first disclosure, and it’s extremely vague.”

The Safety Employee Benefits Association, which represents 3,400 sworn officers in San Bernardino County including the deputies and command staff whose names were released, is providing financial assistance for legal representation for the deputies.

“Our job as a union is to support each and every member,” said Laren Leichliter, SEBA president in a news release. “The financial assistance for legal representation is something these deputies have paid into as part of their membership of SEBA and their service as law enforcement professionals. It is our duty to ensure our members have the same right to legal representation — and the notion of being innocent until proven guilty — as any private citizen would.”

The SEBA news release said that the details of each individual case are between the deputies, command staff and their respective attorneys and that SEBA will not release which members have elected to use their benefits to fund their legal defense.

On April 9, deputies were at a home in the 25000 block of Zuni Road, in Apple Valley, to serve a search warrant related to an identity theft investigation.

Pusok, who was not the subject of the investigation, was at the home and reportedly fled in a vehicle when he saw the deputies.

Deputies pursued Pusok through unincorporated Apple Valley and Hesperia, authorities said. Then he abandoned the vehicle near Bowen Ranch and ran.

Within minutes, deputies got information that Pusok stole a man’s horse as he was riding near the Deep Creek Hot Springs area.

Deputies eventually caught up with the suspect, and as they approached, the horse threw him off. That is when an NBC news helicopter captured the footage of the reported beating.

The same day McMahon called for the investigation into video which he called “disturbing,” the FBI announced they would be launching their own inquiry.

Beatriz E. Valenzuela is an award-winning journalist who’s covered breaking news in Southern California since 2006 and has been on the front lines of several national and international news events. She’s worked for media outlets serving Southern California readers covering education, local government, entertainment and all things nerd including comic book culture and video games. She’s an amateur obstacle course racer, constant fact-checker, mother of three and lover of all things adorable.